


Emily's Adventures in Wonderland

by tnnyoh



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-23 02:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12496276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnnyoh/pseuds/tnnyoh
Summary: When a nineteen year old Emily Kaldwin runs away from a disaster of a social gathering, she finds herself in a place she has never been, or so she believes.   What will Emily discover in this strange new land where nothing makes sense and she is not herself?





	1. All in The Golden Afternoon

**E** mily Kaldwin lived in Dunwall Tower with her mother Jessamine, and her father Corvo.  She was preparing to attend a party in her mother's honor.  
  
She looked into the long mirror in front of her at her outfit when a slight noise made her turn away;  her mother had come in to check on her "Emily, darling.  are you ready to head downstairs yet?"  
Emily looked towards the door at her mother,  she was a beautiful and regal Empress, a kind ruler who always stood up for the lowest of the low.  
She showed so much compassion to her city that Emily found it hard to believe there were some people who didn't support her rule.   "I'm just having trouble finding an outfit."  
"That dress looks perfectly fine" Jessamine crossed over to her daughter and beamed at her "You look absolutely beautiful"  
"I'm so tired of these parties" Emily took a deep breath "Do I have to go?"  
"Emily" Jessamine put her hand on Emily's shoulder gently "I know this, but you've been coming to these parties since you were a little girl"  
"But I'm not a little girl anymore Mother," Emily said, placing her hand on top of her mothers "I'm a grown woman now"  
"I'm still not ready to accept that"  She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and pulled away  
"Where is father?"  
"Your father is practicing being intimidating so nobody will look at me wrong at the party" Jessamine threw her head back with a laugh  
"I think my hair needs to be fixed" Emily said, studying her reflection "Should I wear it up or down?"  
Jessamine looked her over "  
"Wear it down," Her mother said, "It looks stunning!"  
"Won't I get in trouble for my hairstyle not being regal and pompous enough?" Emily asked, pulling out the pins in her hair and letting it down while turning away from the mirror  
"If anyone says anything, I can have them executed" Jessamine joked  
Emily laughed "Ever the protective mother"  
"I may be having a laugh with that, but I fully believe Corvo would go through with it" Jessamine shook her head  
"I'm almost finished, Mother," Emily said with a grin "And I believe that Father would as well"  
"I'll meet you downstairs in the main entrance, your father will be downstairs as well"  She left the room with a flourish, tossing her shawl back dramatically  
Emily looked at herself in the mirror again, she looked strange with her hair down and she was almost certain she hadn't had it down at an event since she was a child.  What will the people say?  
She turned from the mirror to her nightstand, opening the drawer and producing a bound black book with a key lock on it, her diary.  
She grabbed a pen, writing in a quick scrawl the day and month before she poured her thoughts of the day onto the paper.  
  
_Well, I must head downstairs to meet Mother and Father, if I don't get a move on, I'll be late for this most important date._  
  
She replaced the diary within her nightstand and headed to meet her parents.  
  
  


 


	2. The Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily's day gets more complicated when she hears unsettling news and sees the oddest thing running through the bushes.

Emily dashed down the stairs to meet her mother and father standing in the hall.    
Her mother's royal outfit was absolutely beautiful coupled with several adornments.  Her father was in his normal royal protector outfit and vest.  
  
"Are you wearing your hair down today Princess?" Lehane Vale, the event coordinator asked looking over Emily "There will be talk."  It took all of Emily's strength not to roll her eyes as her mother simply smiled.  
Lehane's eyes widened "My apologies Princess, Empress, Royal Protector," she said nodding to each of them "I did not mean to offend, I merely met that these events are rife with aristocrats and word of any kind spreads fast."  
"I'm well aware of that Lehane," Jessamine said as Lehane took her eyes away from the three of them and focused on her papers "But it is of no importance, the meaning of this gathering is to discuss proper ways to fund the new railing station that we want to implement through Dunwall"  
"Yes, of course, Lady Jessamine"  
"And don't forget" Corvo added "We still have to convince some of the board members to go along with it, They are of the opinion that a new railway is an ill-advised waste of coin"  
Jessamine nodded "I'm very persuasive, Lord Protector" She smiled at him.  
  
Emily was always amazed at her parents.  When she was a little girl her parent's relationship was a secret and for the longest time when she was at her youngest she did not even know that Corvo was her father.  They had told her when she was a little older, Prompting Emily to ask why they had never married.  
They explained that the job of Empress is a job that puts you right in the way of gossip and unwelcome rumors.  Corvo was from Serkonos, people would talk and they had decided together it was better if it was kept a secret.  
  
Today, everyone in the Isles knew that Corvo Attano and Jessamine Kaldwin were intimate and had a child together, Emily was glad to have that information public, she couldn't keep a secret to save her life.  But she still wondered why her parents never married.  
"It's time," Corvo said, straightening out his outfit.   Jessamine, Corvo, and Lehane headed towards the back exit doors to the gardens where the event was to be held.  Emily followed suit.

  
  
*** * * ***  
  
There were more people here than Emily expected and she felt her energy draining the moment she walked out into the gardens, her mother was speaking to a group from the chamber of commerce with Corvo close behind, his arms crossed and eyes always scanning the crowd.   Many people approached Emily, a chance to speak to the Princess herself was one highly wished by many of the citizens of the Isles.   Guards were positioned close by the doors and throughout the party, so even if the Lord Protector was distracted by his own duties, Emily's safety would not go unheeded.  
  
"Princess!" A shrill voice rang through the crowd as a woman in a bright blue dress practically pushed her way through to get to Emily, several guards stepping to block her path "Excuse me, Please do not approach the Princess so erratically"  
Emily stepped forward and placed a hand on the man's shoulder "It's fine, Rufus" She gave the man a smile "Please, stand by the doors. I will speak with this woman"  
"Good afternoon Princess Emily!" the woman stuck her hand out, Emily eyed it for a moment before taking it.  "I'm Horance Worthing," She said  
"Of the Worthing Family?" Emily let out a little gasp "You're family is among the richest in all of the Isles"  
Horance fluttered her eyelashes in a way Emily thought made her look awfully like a bug "We're well off" She smirked, Emily fought the urge to cringe.    In the moment of silence that caught them, Horance finally noticed Emily's hair "Oh dear" She said "Your hair seems to have fallen out of its bun"  
"Oh, no," Emily said "I did not wear it up for today"

  
"You... you've gone out on purpose with your hair down?" Horance asked looking at Emily's hair as one would look at a pile of horse manure  "But that's not... proper"  
"Who is to say what is proper?" Emily asked, "If it was agreed that 'proper' was wearing a hagfish on your head, would you wear it?" Horance's mouth opened as if to respond, but it appeared that Emily had made the woman speechless, she looked rather like a hagfish at that moment.  
"Emily," Jessamine said, coming over to her daughter's side "Please" She reached out her hand to Horance "I apologize for my daughter's sense of humor."  
Horance took her hand and shook it, but the look of disgust remained etched onto her features "I just cannot believe you have let your child go out in such a way"  
"Emily has never been a fan of being forced to appear in any one particular way, it is not such a crime to wear one's hair down if they so desire,"  Jessamine said, ever so polite.  
Horance's face blanched "Oh dear, I am so very sorry Empress Jessamine" She pushed herself down on her knees "I have offended you and your name" Emily was surprised when the woman fell into a deep bow and started to sob.  
  
"Please," Jessamine said "Get up, you are causing a spectacle at this event"  She looked in the direction of the guards by the door, Rufus caught her glance and walked over "Is there a problem here Empress?"  
"This woman seems to be in need of a refreshing drink, please escort her to the juice bowl," Jessamine said, Rufus, complied and helped the hysterical Horance to her feet.  
Emily and her mother watched as she was dragged away by the man, still wracked with sobs "What in all the isles was her problem?"  
Jessamine cracked a smile "Her taste for the finer things seemed to have been offended by your hairstyle.  Though I wonder how many times she wished she did not have to dress by a code at these events"  
"Should I just... put my hair up?" Emily asked, feeling a little uneasy  
Jessamine placed a hand on her daughter's cheek "No such thing need happen, You felt like wearing your hair down, and wear it down you shall."  Emily smiled, she loved her mother so very much.  
"Now if you'll excuse me, I think Lord Pendleton is requesting my attention"  Jessamine left her daughters side to speak with more of Dunwall's best, and worst.  
  
Emily stood away from the crowd for the most part, Oh how she despised so many of these sycophants sucking up to her to get what they wanted from her mother.   She wondered if she'd ever had a genuine connection or friendship with someone outside of her family.  
Margery Hirsch, the Isles most well-known gossip bustled up to Emily, throwing her arm around her as if she were a snake "Hello dear!" She said, "Nice day for this, huh?"  
Emily looked up at the sky, as always in Dunwall it was a murky kind of grey "Uh, sure" She said, wishing the woman would stop squeezing her arm around Emily's back.   She looked around but it seemed like all the guards were too far away to notice she was having the life choked out of her by this woman's strangely muscular arm.    "I never thought this would happen"  She beamed at Emily  
"I mean, of course, I had dreamed of being at this event, everyone has! We've all thought over the years that it would just... Be passed by, but when we heard the news... My goodness, we were happy!"  
  
Emily gave the woman a look, was she speaking in the third person or referring to a group of people whom Emily did not know?  
  
"What... are you-?"  
"Oh dear" Margery blushed, clearly embarrassed, she broke the chokehold she had on Emily "I really shouldn't say... but there's a bit of a... surprise"  
Emily felt her heart pounding in her throat, she hated surprises. "Excuse me?"  
"I can't say" Margey shook her head  
"Well you can, you have already started!" Emily said "You must"  
"Well," Margery looked around quickly and leaned in to whisper to Emily "You see Lord Francis over there?"  She indicated a dark haired man who was speaking to a group of well-dressed individuals.  Emily had heard his name before and had seen him at several events, she even believed they had been introduced before.  But she did not have a personal relationship with him.  
"Well today... he's going to ask for your hand"  
"What?" Emily said, she felt like the earth was slipping out from beneath her feet  
"I know!" Margery said, her smile so wide it threatened to break off her face "Isn't this such good news!?"  
Emily couldn't think of a more misread reaction for such a situation  
"I..." she couldn't think of anything to say so she responded with a weak smile  
"Oh, I hope I didn't ruin the surprise!" Margery said earnestly as she grabbed Emily's hands in her own  
"No, of course not. I'm not a fan of surprises anyway..." She glanced around the crowd "Excuse me" she broke away from Margery and searched around for her mother or father.  She had a couple of words for them.  
  
Before she was able to locate her parents, beautiful music started to fill the air.  The dancing! Emily remembered.  These events always had dancing.  
She was approached by a man with short blonde hair "Hello, care for a dance?"  Emily stared at the man, she wanted to turn him down but it was considered rude to do so, she would no doubt already be the subject of much gossip and talk of her hair-down style and the attitude she's displayed to the more annoying aristocrats.   She nodded with a strained smile and the pair started to dance as couples around them were already pairing up.  
While dancing with the man she looked out at the other couples, many were dancing, some of them were fighting.   She couldn't see her parents out in the crowd, She looked up at the sky to see a crow flying through the air.   It was such a sight to see such a beautiful creature drifting slowly through the highest clouds, Emily wondered what it would be like to fly above and see all the tiny people from the perspective of a crow.  
Her eyes returned to the party guests, landing on one of the largest men she had ever seen in her life; he was shaped like a ball and reminded Emily a bit of a whale.  She giggled.  
  
Her dance partner stiffened "Excuse me? Do you find me amusing?"  
"No," Emily said "I was just thinking about what it would be like to fly like the crows do"  
"That's a silly thing to think about, why would you waste your time on something impossible?"  
"Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast," Emily said with a shrug.  
The song ended as Emily was tapped on the shoulder by the mother of Lord Francis "May I cut in? I need to have a word with the Princess"  
The blonde man, Emily had never caught his name, gladly moved away from her to search for a less odd dance partner.  Emily turned to the woman,  her features were severe and she looked as though she spent at least half the time she was awake screaming at others.    
"Hello Princess," The woman said "I'm Lucinda Fraiser, I believe you've met my son, Francis"  
"We have on occasion," Emily said _not enough to be off and married_ she thought  
The two of them walked around the party goers and dancing couples to walk around out around the large shrub gardens which were teeming with flowers "Now I thought I'd take a moment to speak with you" She said "Francis has a very specific diet"  
Emily nodded absentmindedly as she spotted something rather peculiar in the bushes  
"He needs to eat more greens than meat, or he'll get very uncomfortable in the stomach region" Lucinda went on "Now he cannot eat tomatoes unfortunately, it's only green vegetables he can stomach"  
Emily stared at the spot she saw the strange thing, _it can't be_ she thought to herself, _absolutely impossible_.    
There it was again, racing through the bushes.  Emily's eyes widened and she whipped around to see where it went "Excuse me, Princess. Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"  
"Yes, Francis will have uncomfortable flatulence if I let him eat meat and tomatoes," She said flatly  
"Watch your tongue!" Lucinda spat "That is not a way for a lady to speak"  
"It most certainly is," Emily said, her hands on her hips "I speak in whichever way I wish"  
Lucinda glared "Moving on," She said, a bitter note in her voice.  
  
They continued to stroll through the gardens; Lucinda prattling on about her son's many allergies and ailments which she expected Emily to cater to.  She so badly wished to tell the woman to shut her mouth and marry off her son to someone who gave a hagfish about his unusual talent in whistling but she simply listened and nodded until, again, she saw it.  
It was a rabbit.  That wasn't something out of the ordinary, rabbits are often prancing through gardens, but this one... was wearing a little coat and holding a pocket watch, which he glanced at before trotting off again "Did you see that!" Emily asked, interrupting Lucinda  
"Did I see what?"  
"I just saw a rabbit running through here, wearing a coat!"  
"That is such an odd thing to say," Lucinda said, making a face "Rabbits do not wear coats"  
"I just saw it," Emily said "It was holding a watch as well"  
"Now what exactly is a rabbit going to need a watch for? You need to get your head out of the clouds, Princess" Emily wasn't paying attention to her words as she saw the rabbit yet again, running out towards the party  
"I've..." Emily began "I've got to run!"  She said, dashing to follow the rabbit.  
She lost sight of the rabbit and felt herself being pulled in two different directions as the couples danced around her, no mind or matter in letting her free of their movements "Excuse me" Emily said in her politest voice, she pushed past several people who scoffed as she passed "Princess thinks she can do anything because of who her mother is" one woman said, responded with "Hush you, this is her day, after all"  
Emily nearly forgot about the marriage proposal she was expecting, she felt a little dizzy.  Maybe she ought to sit down for a moment.  
She was just about to sit down on one of the stone benches when the musicians stopped playing and Lucinda herself stepped up to the dais with a wine glass in her hand, which she tapped lightly with her strange fingernails to gain everyone's attention "What a wonderful afternoon and such a monumental occasion that gathers everyone here today!"  
The crowd listened as she talked endlessly about her son, Emily looked around but still couldn't spot her parents.   She slumped down onto the bench and crossed her arms,  the dizziness subsiding just a bit.  
  
* * * *  
  
The dizziness, as Emily learned, would only subside just for a moment.  She was standing up on the dais with Lord Francis in front of her and a crowd of people looking up at them, she even spotted a painter who she presumed was painting this moment.  _Great_ , she thought, _my worst nightmare, immortalized forever_.  She finally spotted her parents who had just come in through the gardens, they were holding hands and walking towards the front.  When they finally arrived Emily looked down at them with a helpless expression, Her mother smiled somberly and her father's features were angry.  
_They didn't want this_ Emily thought, this must have been something forced upon them and the Kaldwin name.  
Lord Francis took Emily's hand "Princess Emily," He said with a smile as he got down on one knee "Will you allow me the honor of taking your hand in marriage?" Emily looked at him, he was an attractive man by normal standards and she was sure he was nice.  She looked out over the crowd  
"Well I... I... I'm sure I don't want to be alone for all my years, you're a nice man, I.. I think..." She felt like she was going to pass out, she looked away from Francis over at the taller shrubs, a rabbit in a blue coat was staring right at her, tapping impatiently on his pocket watch as if reminding her she was late for something "I... need a moment" She said, pulling her hand away from his and dashing off to follow the rabbit.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this chapter and many chapters going forward are inspired by Alice in Wonderland, specifically the 2010 movie version, some of the dialogue is word for word and others are paraphrased, all character names outside of the Dishonored names are invented by me.
> 
> If I knew how to format a chapter it would be a miracle.


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